Children's Home run by Central and Southern Homes Limited in Devon

Inspection report for children’s home: 2611536 1 Registered provider: Central & Southern Homes Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This children’s home provides care for up to five children who may have social and emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

There has been no registered manager since 29 November 2021.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

p.1

requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

p.1

requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 30 November 2021

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2611536 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/11/2021 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home: 2611536 3

p.2

improvement to be good

There are two children currently living in the home.

p.3

improvement to be good

Children enjoy living in the home. Staff support children with affection and warmth. Staff know children well and are proud of their achievements. Children enjoy baking and arts and crafts in the home, creating canvases to decorate their space. One child has joined a local football club. Both children enjoy visiting the coast and the indoor trampoline park. Children have not yet been able to develop age-appropriate independence and so are with adults at all times.

p.3

improvement to be good

Staff support children to spend time with their families. One child has been supported to reconnect with a sibling. One parent speaks positively of communication and support. However, another feels that they are not updated when important things happen.

p.3

improvement to be good

Children experience mixed education opportunities. One child has recently started at a local secondary school. However, another child is not in school and inconsistently accesses alternative arrangements. Staff meet children’s health needs through attending appointments. Specialist health input is sought where needed. However, records are not clear when follow-up action may be needed, which means that staff may not know what to arrange.

p.3

improvement to be good

Leaders and managers seek feedback from children and take action in response to their suggestions. For example, one child struggled to read the time on a clock without numbers, so staff purchased a new one. Staff involve children in reviewing their progress. However, some goals are not written in a child-friendly manner, making them unclear.

p.3

improvement to be good

Leaders and managers recognise that for one child, they cannot maintain safety and are planning for that child’s move. Safeguarding records do not always contain management oversight. Leaders and managers investigate concerns with practice and allegations. These investigations do not always gather information from everyone involved in incidents. As a result, they do not fully evaluate the whole incident or the impact on children. Leaders and managers maintain a clear group living risk assessment. This helps staff to know that children are safe living together. Staff understand one child’s risk in relation to self-harm, supported by a clear plan.

p.3

improvement to be good

Behaviour is well managed and incidents of restraint are minimal. Records show management of incidents through de-escalation strategies contained in plans. However, records of restraint are of inconsistent quality and lack clarity. Inspection report for children’s home: 2611536 4 Management oversight of incidents does not identify discrepancies. In addition, managers do not always evaluate the proportionality of intervention. Records of children’s debriefs do not always contain sufficient information. Consequently, it is not known what attempts have been made to engage a child in a debrief.

p.3

improvement to be good

Leaders and managers monitor incidents that occur in the home. However, the narrow focus does not look at the wider patterns for children and learning is therefore limited. This is not helped by the fragmented filing system and complicated paperwork. Leaders and managers identify the difficulty with the documents and have designed new forms. Clear and concise behaviour support plans and individual risk assessments support staff to keep children safe. However, it is not clear whether all staff have read documents and therefore know what to do.

p.4

improvement to be good

The location risk assessment contains clear identification of the risks to children in the local area. Thorough recruitment processes follow safer recruitment.

p.4

good

The registered manager post has been vacant for over three months. A new manager has been recruited but has not started. The members of the staff team remain inexperienced and consequently are reliant on support from leaders and managers. The staff team is small, with little sufficiency for covering leave or sickness. The responsible individual is frequently working on shift to support the team. While this provides continuity for children, it affects management oversight and leadership within the home.

p.4

good

Staff speak positively about working in the home and feel supported by management. Staff feel that they get training appropriate to their role. The record of training does not contain all information about learning completed by staff. Staff receive regular supervision; however, its quality is inconsistent. Staff show an ability to be reflective about their own practice; however, this does not lead to clear actions for support. Staff attend regular team meetings. These meetings do not always discuss the children in detail, and records of the meetings lack clarity about discussions.

p.4

good

Plans for children contain concise information. However, there are inconsistencies across different documents, meaning it is not always clear how to support children. Not all documents get updated when changes occur and this is not tracked. Leaders and managers identify the areas for development in the home through a clear action plan. Inspection report for children’s home: 2611536 5

p.4

Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

p.5

Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

p.5

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare.

p.5

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

p.5

Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

p.5

Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

p.5

Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

p.5

Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child.

p.5

Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home.

p.5

Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

p.5

Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met;

p.5

Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home.

p.5

Requirement Due date

(Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(i)(h)) 29 April 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 2611536 6 In particular, the registered person must ensure that there are sufficient staff to care for children, and they must ensure that records are maintained to provide clarity for staff. They must also ensure that they maintain accurate records of training to satisfy themselves of staff experience and skills, and to maintain accurate records of team meetings. The registered person must also ensure that there are clear processes in place to ensure that staff read and are familiar with documents. In addition, the registered person must ensure that there are monitoring and review systems in place to evaluate incidents that occur, so that learning can be undertaken to inform planning for children.

p.5

Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated.

p.6

Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

p.6

Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience.

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that supervision is of consistent quality and identifies clear actions to support staff development in response to practice issues they raise. 15 April 2022

p.6

Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

p.6

Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

p.6

Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

p.6

Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

p.6

Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure; 15 April 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 2611536 7 the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

p.6

Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

p.7

Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

p.7

Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)—

p.7

Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

p.7

Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

p.7

Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c)(iv))

p.7

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that accurate records of restraint are maintained, and that management oversight includes scrutiny of the records for consistency of accounts. The registered person should ensure that records clearly identify the duration of the restraint and measures used. The registered person should also ensure that children’s debriefs are clearly recorded, including what steps have been taken to provide a debrief to a child if a debrief is unsuccessful.

p.7

Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, using the social care common inspection framework. This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how well it complies with the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. Inspection report for children’s home: 2611536 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Central & Southern Homes Ltd

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Pitmaston House, Malvern Road, Worcester WR2 4LL

p.8

Inspector

Clare Nixson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2611536 9 to achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

p.8

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.9

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.9

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.9